Sunshine
Sunshine by Robin McKinley — a Stand Alone novel. Publishing Information * Publisher: Jove, Berkley Trade * Author Page: * Book Page: * Bk-first print: Mass Market Paperback, 405 pages, Pub. Nov 30-2004, ISBN-0515138819 * Bk-re-print: Paperback, 475 pages, Pub. Oct 7-2008, ISBN-0515138819 ~ Editions of Sunshine by Robin McKinley Genres and Sub-Genres Urban Fantasy / Fiction / Alternate Universe Book Description or Overview There hadn't been any trouble out at the lake for years, and Sunshine just needed a spot where she could be alone with her thoughts. ~ Goodreads | Sunshine The story is set in an alternate universe, taking place after the “Voodoo Wars”, a conflict between humans and the “Others”. The Others mainly consist of vampires, werewolves, and demons, though the main conflict occurs between humans and vampires. As a result of this war, “bad spots”, or places where black magic thrives, have appeared more frequently. Rae "Sunshine" Seddon, the pastry-making heroine of the novel, has the misfortune of being caught off-guard at her family's old lake side cabin and is abducted by a gang of vampires. She is confined to the ballroom of an abandoned mansion with Constantine, a vampire shackled there by vampires of a rival gang, led by Constantine’s enemy Bo. Bo’s intention is to allow Constantine to slowly die of hunger and exposure to sunlight. Rae is brought as bait for him, and the vampires cut her upper chest as temptation. However, Rae not only manages to defy the supposed power that any vampire has over a human, but also uses her all-but-forgotten magical powers of transmutation, taught to her by her grandmother, to effect an escape. Rae realizes that the magical lineage she has ignored allows her to draw power from the sunlight, ergo transferring her ability through touch to Constantine and allowing him to be under the light of day, so long as contact is maintained. Through this symbiotic relationship, the two of them make an escape. Despite her best efforts, all does not return to normalcy once Rae is back home. Her friends and family are shocked by her survival of an encounter with vampires, and over time she both starts to become more affected by the trauma and refuses to tell anyone the circumstances leading to her alliance with a vampire. As it becomes clear that the conflict with Bo and his gang is only beginning, Sunshine begins to embrace her magical ability, is coerced into working with the "Special Other Forces", wonders what kind of tentative partnership can exist between two individuals whose races are bitter enemies, and, finally, works with Constantine to overthrow Bo for good. ~ Wikipedia Excerpt * Sunshine Reloaded ~ Robin McKinley Lead's Species * human Primary Supe * vampire What Sets it Apart * shelved in Fiction, not Fantasy Narrative Type and Narrators *First person narrative told by Sunshine World Building Setting * New Arcadia: Sunshine's home town The story is set in an alternate universe, taking place after the “Voodoo Wars”, a conflict between humans and the “Others” Places: * No Town * Charlie's Coffeehouse: where Sunshine works * The Lake: A mostly abandoned part of town. Supernatural Elements ✥ Vampires, werewolves, demons, magic handlers, voodoo, elemental magic, powers of transmutation, alternate universe, vampire gang, magic tattoos, supe drug, , , Glossary: * Voodoo Wars: conflict between humans and the “Others” * The Others: vampires, werewolves, demons * “Bad Spots”: places where black magic thrives—left by the war 'Groups & Organizations': * SOF—"Special Other Forces": ("Sucker Cops") World ✥ Elemental Powers: Magic-users are described as usually having a particular elemental affinity which gives them resistance to things that element opposes or neutralizes. The most common ones are (of course) fire, air, water, and earth, but metal and wood are also known possibilities. The title character's is, appropriately, sunlight, which is an unusual affinity falling somewhere between air and fire. ~ Topes ✥ Vampires are much less human in Sunshine than in most works, and they get progressively less human as they age. This process apparently is much slower for Friendly Neighborhood Vampires than for the other kind: Constantine can deal with twilight and moonlight, and most vampires his age can't. Our Werebeasts Are Different: Were-chickens, were-rats, were-skunks and others. Werewolves exist but are relatively rare. Drugs exist to suppress the Change, though they are illegal. ~ Topes Protagonist Rae "Sunshine" Seddon: A young woman who works as the baker at a coffee shop call✥ ed Charlie's Coffeehouse. Born Raven Blaise. Her father, whom her mother left when Sunshine was small, was part of a powerful magic-wielding family. ~ Wikipedia Sunshine's birth name is Raven Blaise, but her mother made a dedicated effort to bury that name after the disappearance of Sunshine's father and her remarriage to Charlie Seddon. Raven Blaise therefore became Rae Seddon, and by the time the book starts everyone knows her as "Sunshine." ~ Topes Constantine: A vampire held in captivity by the same vampires that captured Sunshine. He is somehow different than the other vampires (exactly how is never revealed in the book, although it is clear it has something to do with his eating habits, as the setup with Sunshine is clearly meant to make him drink from and kill her), but he is able to go out in moonlight which most vampires his age cannot.~ Wikipedia Book Cover Description There are places in the world where darkness rules, where it’s unwise to walk. Sunshine knew that. But there hadn’t been any trouble out at the lake for years, and she needed a place to be alone for a while. Unfortunately, she wasn’t alone. She never heard them coming. Of course you don’t, when they’re vampires… They took her clothes and sneakers. They dressed her in a long red gown. And they shackled her to the wall of an abandoned mansion – within easy reach of a figure stirring in the moonlight. She knows that he’s a vampire. She knows that she’s to be his dinner, and that when he is finished with her, she will be dead. Yet, when dawn breaks, she finds that he has not attempted to harm her. And now it is he who needs her help to survive the day ~ Sunshine ~ I Love Vampires Review